Dear Velo News,
I'm sick of seeing man after man after man across the pages of your commercial "Journal of Competitive Cycling".
Now I'm not what you call a long term reader of your magazine, but wanting to see what all the fuss, gloss and color are about, I picked up two copies from the local supermarket during grocery shopping, over a period of maybe 2-3 weeks.
If you want to know how bad this problem is, here, I inspected two issues from the recent past, Vol 37, no. 7 and 8 dated April 29 and May 13.
In 98 pages of no.7 above, 2 teeny weeny sections on 2 pages were devoted to female pros.
In 110 pages of no. 8 above, one, I repeat, just one page was devoted to women.
Whats worse, it was an ad for Continental tires that featured two of the most ugliest, wicked looking, fattest women I have seen in my entire life. It beats me how they can promote tires!
After seeing that, I had to puke my Cliff Bars out, the only time I have ever thrown up such magnificent food.
If this is some weird ploy to promote chastity among men so that, you know, they can ride more, its not working my friend.
Infact, I even hear that British racer Robert Millar had serious doubts about himself, and even ended up changing his sex because he was unfortunately given a diet of your magazines to read.
Now it is likely that I may have missed some tiny bits of text on women's racing here and there, but where are the pictures?
Where is the women's Ronde Van Vlaanderen, the La Fleche Wallonne? Where's Nicole Cooke and her cute smile? Where's the one about the Vanderkitten Liz Hatch? Did you guys seriously miss the train or are you paranoid about talking to females?
I'm sick of seeing Boonen, Boonen, Boonen. He can go to hell (he did go to hell and win there too, sigh!). My girlfriend tells me he looks like an alien anyway.
And brainwashing us with color and gloss so you can get us to stare at men is not catching on with me, I see enough of them on the local race circuit.
We return home, tired after the races, and want to read something pleasing to the eyes. Instead, there is a testosterone epidemic across your pages and you have conveniently ignored the estrogen.
You may think I drank a little too much coffee today but Rachel's blog has discovered it too. Read : Where's the Women At?
This is no Journal of Competitive Cycling. This is Journal of Competitive Crap. Men's crap.
I'm not asking anyone to make a porn magazine here. At a time when the onus is on the media to promote women's cycling here and elsewhere, the status quo is conveniently preserved.
Thankfully, I won't make the mistake of putting 5 dollars down for your "Journal" anymore. Its too much money. I can buy a whole bar of Hershey's chocolate with that.
Instead, I'll just visit your internet portal.
Its free.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
10 An Open Letter to Velo News : The Journal of Competitive Men
2 The Foxy Win
Friday, May 30, 2008
2 Guido Belcanto Sings for Pantani
Dove posso comprare un album? ...poco homoerotic ma la relativa approvazione!! Hehe...
Old video. Guido travels all the way to sing a song. Pretty touching and fun, but the late Pantani had to put up with this after a stage on the Cipressa. I would be eating+sleeping!!! Btw, Pantani could sing you know. I posted one before. Happy weekending, ya'll!
34 Cycling and Relationships : A Tough Question
Suppose : Your new life partner, apple of your eye, but obviously not as crazy as you about cycling, tests your commitment in relationship. One day, in a very serious tone, he or she asks you to drop your passion altogether. Its either him/her or bicycles, not both. Its a one way street.
You've finally found a perfect mate after years, but cycling is another thing that keeps you alive. How will you reply and act? Will you do the obvious - say yes and keep riding (hehe) or will you give in, either to your urges or their demands .
Many, if not some, may already have gone through this situation. Because lets face it - serious cycling is a lot of investment in time. If you have not realized that by now, I don't know what to tell you. You don't necessarily have to be pro to decide to do every race in the local calender or ride 10,000 miles every year, not including the hours that go in training, preparation, reading cycling blogs and magazines, watching bike races and hunting for new equipment to buy every season.
Replies will not only help a young guy like me, it'll be interesting for other readers as well.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
14 The PRO Mechanic
So you want to be a PRO mechanic?
Afterall, someone's got to do it.
Boy, how do I even start telling of the wondrous things they do?
Like a woman is behind a successful man, mechanics complement the riders with their talents.
You NEED the energy to go, whenever, wherever. "Problem on his bike? No problem. Where? Middle of the peleton? 12% gradient? No problem, give me the job."
When riders sleep, you prepare their equipment, wash their bikes, grease its bearings, lube the chain.
You know torque specs like they were on the back of your fingers. You inspect sprocket wear and remember everyone's favorite saddle height. Not a millimeter more, not a millimeter less.
Like the rider is fond of the bike, the bike is your baby too. You put it to function, gave it that white handlebar tape, put the shine on the chain and the gloss on the top tube.
You adorned her with cables and cut it to perfect length and saw that the brakes kissed the rim perfectly.
The words "straight", "length" and "centered" are not just some vague terms in an installation manual anymore. You deal with them every damn minute.
When the rider is ready for office, you are at their beck and call.
"Oh you don't like that saddle sir? No problem."
"Monsieur, special stem just for you. Here."
"Oh, too lightweight bike? F**k UCI. No problem, lets stuff some lead balls here. No, here will be better I think. More aero, no?"
You see, you need the creativity to CREATE. Your rider is your master, and you please him for the 100 mile arduous journey ahead with your tools, your head, your hand and your penchant to make shit work.
Yes, you make shit work while the rider makes shit happen. That, he will do during the race, and his legs will do the talking.
But if he fails, he will look at you and so will the team. The newspapers will spot you, a whole nation may be upset. Can you take the risk? Can you make shit work or will you put your reputation on the line?
At a time when commercial shelves have not seen a new arrangement, you create for your rider. Your handiwork is there for all to see in Huang's relentless Cyclingnews photos. You may be more at home with zip ties and duck tape than anything else, but it must work. It will awe some, it might be ridiculed, it might make the next big idea for a cycling component. What do you know?!
If you think only riders need fitness, you are WRONG my friend. Take a look at the picture below.
You must be ready to make shit happen, whenever, wherever. Fitness is important, yoga and core strengthening is the name of the game. Too much of a belly? BIG problem, sir! You're not going to fit through that car window. Better retire.
At 0mph, or 50 mph, you must be ready to get the tools out and make minute revolutions to his dérailleur barrel adjuster.
"Transponder sticking out! Aaargh, he's slowing. Quick, he's too unaero. Fix it!". Forget yourself for a moment and bring the real James Bond out.
"Rider down! Rider down!! Pedro, run get him!!!"
Can you run? Okay, good. Can you push him as he jumps into the saddle? No, not flat. I'm talking uphill. Like UPHILL, UPMOUNTAIN, not the puny crap roads you have in the States. Show me your triceps. Ah, its okay, but more work needed! Hit the weights, Pedro!
The office of the rider is on his bike. You go to your office, the team truck, to prepare his office, think about that!
No office means big holiday for everyone and everything is a waste. Catch the next flight back to headquarters.
Holidays during the pro season = BAD BAD BAD.
When in the truck, coffee can be your friend. Carry some cheesy music from the 70's and some Mozart too. All will serve you well.
Proper communication is absolutely essential. You can be the liason between a multinational bicycle corporation and your team. You can be the only one who understands the rider's language. Who knows...
You must listen to your rider and give him his heart's desire. Leave your subjectivities, likes and dislikes at home. Respect what they like, be at home with their eccentricities.
"What did he say he needs more on his bike?" Did you listen?
Not all riders are the same. One can be nice and zero work. Another will be so problematic that he will give you hell.
You must take hell with a smile on the face and an Allen key in hand. Ready for the challenge?
How about - Can you speak to that other mechanic from Iceland? Maybe the word for "help" might be a nice idea. Something like that you know...
Miscommunication can cause lots of bad things. Look below, need I say more?
The team entrusts you with its inventory. Only you must know where each thing is. You must be organized and have something for tidiness. This is not your high school days. Serious business here, my friend.
"Did you loose a cleat screw? No problem, here, I can find you one." This is the sort of reply that your rider expects, not : "Oh you know, you go climb that baby, haha, you'll be fine I'll search and give it you in like two days."
You must be ready to leave your mechanic role and be a friend in need, brother, mentor whatever you want to call it. Here comes your rider with a broken collarbone. Stage race, didn't make it. What will you tell him?
When the team van is raided, or that doctor is busted, you must be ready to fight for team integrity. You worked hard to prepare the bike for a rider who rides naturally. You didn't see pharmaceuticals. "No, not here officer!"
You see, this may be a funny/stupid/false/very true intro to a hard job, but in the end, mechanics are those special people behind the riders we know. Hardly in the press or the sports channel, these men of tool and grease help make the backbone of every successful team.
Riders are on camera, mechanics may be in team buses sitting humbly, cheering the "hard men of the road" on.
But they make shit work.
You bet.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
4 Wolf SL Fork Failure
How it happened (described by user) : "Wolf SL (all carbon) on a Cervelo Soloist Carbon. About 8,200 miles on the fork. Installed per instructions with the epoxied aluminum insert at a reputable shop (bought new at my LBS). VERY short (I run no spacers at all). FSA OS 115 stem torqued to spec. 155-165# rider. Stopped at an intersection, heading for some hill riding (Indian hill area of course for the Cincy peeps). Started and torqued the bars some to get a jump through the intersection at the green light - SNAP! Down, right in the middle of the intersection. Just about got ran over by the minivan behind me (tire about 2 inches from my leg). Didn't know what happened."
Long Story Short : Steerer tube on a Cervelo TT bike failed where an aluminum insert ended, at the top of the headset. Cervelo doesn't apparently make these forks, True Temper/ Alpha Q does for the former party. The Al insert didn't extend past the upper headset. There was a difference of opinion between the companies as to the dimensions of the insert, and the math in the installation instructions were messed up. As a result, some inexperienced bike shops ended up installing the forks incorrectly. Read the entire forum postings on this link [Slow Twitch], its long but gets interesting as it flows.
If you or anyone you know have these forks on your Cervelo, be concerned. Cervelo has apparently not recalled these older forks (newer forks have different inserts) and many people could be out there still riding with them, it seems.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
2 Pedaling History Bicycle Museum
For those of you cyclists who do come up here to Western NY, you should definitely visit Pedaling History, the world's largest bicycle museum. Its just 15 or 20 miles from where I live, maybe we can meet up and catch a cup of coffee too?
Anyway, watch curator Carl Burgwardt (also a retired Buffalo executive) give us a sweet introduction to historical bicycles with an excellent video, courtesy of River Wired TV. (It may take a little while to load but you can try refreshing the page or click the direct link here)
3 Plan de Corones - Giro d'Italia 2008 Stage 16 TT
What : A never before used 8 mile uphill GRINDER with almost 3600 feet of climbing.
In Layman's Terms Please ? : "Hmm. let’s see… why don’t we start off with a gentle 16% hump leading up to a moderate 20% incline and finish up the stage on a 24% gravel road?" - Velo go go
Ideal Road Surface : Must be a little wet. Too wet or too dry both will result in loss of traction.
Gearing Used (Pro only!) : Bettini went with 34 x 28 T, Leipheimer apparently chose the same too - Cycle To
Danilo Di Luca, after a scout on the climb earlier this year, immediately said 34 x 29 T was ideal for him - EuroSport
Gearing (homely humans) - Multiply above with any number greater than 1.
A Nice Preview
Video courtesy : Holimites
Actual Stage 16 (English Coverage)
Video Courtesy : Miha2007
2 Meet USA Cycling President Mark Abramson
I didn't tell many people this but I'll put it out here anyway. Funny resemblance, and sometimes a little scary - When Abramson puts on his sunglasses, he has this uncanny ability to look like Lance Armstrong. You won't tell the difference from the crowd. I've been fooled pretty well on a couple of occasions.
Monday, May 26, 2008
4 Swisstop GHP Pad Testing
What : Green High Performance (GHP) - Green compound the rubber mixture of the superlative for all aluminum and ceramic rims. Excellent brake power in dry conditions and unbeatable in rain. Very low pad and rim wear. [From Manufacturer's Site]
Who : Swiss Stop pads are made by a Swiss company named Rex Articoli SA. Their 70 years of experience in technical compounds allows them to produce brake pads with highly fine tuned performance characteristics. Swiss Stop pads have superior stopping power, low pad-wear rates, very linear brake response, and a smooth, quiet performance. [Competitive Cyclist]
Below are test setups to measure pad co-efficient of friction. The facility is able to simulate wet conditions as well. Brake pad wear is measured to within 1/100 gram accuracy. Courtesy WorldClassCycles.
I'm wondering how they make these pads but ingredients are often closely guarded manufacturing secrets.
Friday, May 23, 2008
2 'Wheel-Ax' with Mozart
I'm going to try and steer some interesting articles to the blog next week. But for now, I bring to you Mozart. Tada! While cycling is refreshing, adding long mileages and high intensity work outs week after week can be stressful too.
I put together some of Mozart's pieces here. Ideas were taken from the "Strengthen the Mind" CD, one in Don Cambell's "Music for the Mozart Effect" Collection. Whether it be for a relaxing pre-nap session, clarity in thinking, visualizing your victory in the next big race on the calender, or gaining the confidence to go downhill at 70mph (see Bugno and music therapy), this will do some good or plenty of good. Approach with an open mind. You can top all this with some deep, belly breathing to make things more interesting. Credits to IMEEM.
And you could tell me how it went after all that. Ciao amici!
1. Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K216 (Allegro)
2. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Major, K. 107
3. Rondo-Allegretto Grazioso, Sonata in F Major for Violin and Piano, K. 376
4. Rondo-Allegro, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in D Major, K. 525
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
10 Rim Heating During Hard Braking
While I don't know "how-much" brake shoe fins may help for their intended design (whatever that is), a general increase in surface area should aid heat dissipation/transfer to the air. I love it when readers help me fill my own limited knowledge. Take a look at the comments beside yesterday's post on brake shoe fins. See if you can come up with some more "possible" uses. :)
However, the subject of heat production in rims is real. I realize that a few riders out there may still not have come to terms with this. Allow me to wander and bore you.
Think of a 15% gradient downhill slope, narrow and curvy. Now think about your total weight,speed,drag co-efficient yada yada. Think about 60+ mph. Now think a sorry looking deer popping out of no-where just 200m in front of you. Rapid deceleration needed or you and the deer won't make it. Either deer will end up inside you or you'll end up inside the deer through the wrong side and it'll make for an interesting news article.
Picture a sorry looking deerHard relentless braking during such an emergency is a likely candidate for rim temperatures shooting beyond 70 degree C (150 F). Try something like this, stop the bike and then feel the rim yourself. I caution safety first and foremost. Carry an oven glove with you too. It may fit in the jersey pocket. I think Specialized makes one.
In a chapter on 'Braking', in the book Bicycling Science (Gordon,MIT), there is a nice graph of rim temperature above ambient vs speed for a few cases consisting of different bicycles, drag co-efficients, combined masses and wheel diameters.
If I interpret it right, here's the interesting trend as shown by it though. As speed increases, rim heating decreases. More air flows past, hence more cooling and heat dissipation. Nothing hard there to imagine.
Such is the dilemma of downhill racers, says Gordon. Going fast on one hand avoids heating the rim whereas emergency braking on the other presents the danger of suddenly overheating it, making for a very dangerous situation.
How dangerous? If temperatures cross a point, they can soften the tire, blow the sidewall and even cause a tubular glue failure, allowing the tire to slip out. All this can be magnified by the high speed, improper front-rear wheel braking reactions, and poor worn out rims (think twice about buying used wheels from Ebay) and you'll be very lucky to survive if you crash. Some are in disbelief (mostly non-cyclists) when you tell them that cycling is one of the most dangerous sports there is.
In the past I did write a post on this topic and even highlighted a popular Tour de France crash video that I was lucky to find on Youtube. Click here to read.
In general, rim heating depends on the following, not necessarily in order of importance. I wont explain any of the following since I take it that you can apply a little of your own thinking to each.
If I missed something, do point out.
1. Mass of rider+bike - More mass to stop, more dissipative energy.
2. Tire grip and rolling resistance.
3. Deceleration rate - % of g (acceleration due to gravity).
4. Braking surface area and wheel diameter.
5. Slope of road - Dictates speed and type of energy to be dissipated in the brakes. Physics 101.
6. Ambient temperature and weather conditions - Wet vs dry, hot vs cold.
7. Material of the rim, tires, tubes, rim strip or tape, brake pads and shoes.
8. Type and profile of the rim - Streamlined deep vs non-aero. Here's another dilemma abut buying 'faster' wheels.
9. Frontal area and co-efficient of drag of rider and bike. (Try taking a recumbent down Alpe D'uez) Think also about drag racing cars employing chutes to stop.
10. Number of brakes applied and method of application - Single vs both brakes, continuous vs 'pumping' action.
11. Front to rear weight distribution - Anything near the extreme cases will affect #2.
If you're a bicycle rider, try seeing the dynamics of these above factors during braking. Studying braking and frictional action is very interesting and applies to a wide number of fields.
22 Brake Pad Friendliness And The Splintering Bell Sweep
1. Little things make a difference for different people. Sometimes, these little things go unnoticed. As an example, look at those protrusions on this Jagwire brake pad holder. One wonders what possible use could two shark fin like elements contribute to cycling enjoyment.
Well, it turns out that only when you begin to install conventional brake pads do you realize the slight effort needed to hold it in place at the brake bracket while tightening the screw and washer with an Allen key.
One of the sillier uses for these little things is that they let you hold on to something to keep the shoe with the pad in place while you're tightening the screw. Some kind of human factors engineering right there.
2. I love my Bell Sweep R helmet.
Used for less than a season, I was disappointed when things started falling off its shell as I inspected it this morning. Like this piece of foam!
What the hell? Are you kidding me? It has never taken a spill, not even dropped, neither do I have huge ugly fingernails.
How can something protect your head by compression when the very thing separates from the shell and falls off to the ground? I truly must admit that I haven't been ridiculously checking every inch of my helmet after every ride, but I figure I must have missed seeing a crack. And the shell-foam bonding has failed here too.
While I wonder if I can get away with it and keep riding (I do have another helmet as backup), is there any guarantee that expensive helmets are any safer or better in design?
2 Why I ride?
"I ride because life is too easy when all you have to do is push the gas pedal down and turn the heat up to the last notch on the dial."
Monday, May 19, 2008
2 Cardboard Bicycle
Talk about going green! Ryan Perkins of Pacific SouthWest Container made this cardboard single speed from a PDF CAD drawing done on Bike Forest Pro. Excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail, I must say.
Now if you have to ride it, you'll have to go on one of Carmichael's diet program. Or you know what'll happen. It is also so lightweight that to effectively lock it in place, you'll need two 500 kilogram weights on each side of the fork as shown in the picture. One will not do since it'll mangle the fork on one side and then the bike will only go round and round. Okay, wait...they're made out of cardboard too. (Jeez, that poor bike is being raped by chains)
Jk..See more pictures at the Bike Forest Blog.
9 How Bicycle Helmets Are Made
In a previous post, we looked at how bicycle helmets protect the head. Now lets look at how they're produced. Surely any helmet design will look good on paper but effectively manufacturing it under cost and time constraints is entirely another thing. But I must admit I have something against the way that shell and foam are attached, as in taped (watch the video)! Of course, there are other ways to piece them together. Bell uses what they term 'co-molding'. That drop test also seems insufficient, keeping in mind the many scenarios in which a cyclist can crash. Video courtesy of user RameshKumar123.
Now one wonders how popular cycling helmets out there are so expensive. Does R&D and testing take up the costs or are there more factors involved? And what is so state-of-the-art about the latest research on bicycling helmets? Isn't the same knowledge used pretty much year after year or is it otherwise? Marketing trendiness of "pro-helmets" with a thousand vents must also be near the top of the list for the hefty price tags. Feel free to drop a comment.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES :
How Bicycle Helmets Are Made
Saturday, May 17, 2008
1 Einstein, That Fast Kid And The Horrible C35
1. Pro Cycling Manager 2008, update to the PC based game developed by Cyanide Studios is scheduled to be released in June. The game is basically a sports simulation where you'll play as the general manager of one of 65 official cycling teams and will handle all aspects of a professional team's season. I don't play computer games these days apart from a little chess now and then, but when I did try some PCM in the past, it was with the 2006 edition. The game was so horrible back then that riding my trainer for 4 hours was more interesting, and not even marginally.
2. Tired? Bored of riding long miles? An interesting picture slapped onto the top tube of a TREK by an Ebay seller. He's been riding for 2 years, it seems, until he ended this fling.
3. Dave Z recounts his prematurely ended Giro. He's having tough times, but somehow manages to hold on to artful humor. Some mighty words from the mighty Z:
"So we won the TTT at the Giro, which is pretty cool. The next day things were going ok until a bottle bounced out of Millar’s cage and into my path. No big deal, I thought, just a bottle. But then, I hit the ground where the water had leaked and instantly slid out and crashed along with some others. For all the safety regulations the UCI comes up with, here’s one more suggestion - inspect the bottle cages. I know there are some bottle cages out there that can properly hold the bottles. Furthermore, are we drinking out of BPA laced bottles??"
Read the complete version here.
4. Now I love kids, don't get me wrong. But now and then, when a little kid pops up in one of your road races, drafting effortlessly on a Walmart bike with the peleton at 28mph, you'll know you'd want to BE in a breakaway. Well, atleast after all the shock and awe on your face of course. A reader pointed me to a video similar to this nature. I think Gatorade does make kids fast. Check his water bottle, quick!
5. Even Einstein rode a bike to stimulate his brain. Now imagine the problems the scientific community would have had if he had crashed. We wouldn't be having E = MC^2!! So if you're an important person, wear a helmet.
6. So after reading my post, James at Bicycle Design critiques the design of the Colnago C35 Collector's edition, making no secret of the fact that its 'whacked'. James, by the way, is an industrial designer so he probably knows shapes and looks better than most of us. So can one use the same standards used to judge a 'ridable' bike on one that's merely showpiece? Argue why or why not at his blog.
4 1950's Production of Columbia Bicycles
To see the video, go to the NAM host page here and hit "Click to View". If you're interested in knowing more about vintage Columbia bicycles, click this page.
Check out this old Columbia poster, originally published in 1895 - found on Ebay. Pretty funny. I guess it was hard then to substitute humans for animals.. Why is this monkey riding with a parrot, and why is this lazy parrot not flying? Was Columbia for monkeys and parrots? I.. I really can't explain this picture.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
4 Stretch the PRO Way
Even Belgian Knee Warmers wouldn't have touched upon this aspect of PRO.
See, to be a complete PRO, you've got to learn some gimmicks of the trade while in office.
For instance, to stretch like this. This is no BMX circus act. You can't stop, neither can your legs take the blows any more. Miles lie ahead of you.
Only one option left...
Here, #186 Danny Pate shows how its done.
Courtesy : Slimstream Photos (Giro)12 Millar's Chain Failure
"After looking at the chain that Mr. Millar broke today, the mechanics are plain dumbfounded. It didn’t break on the pin, but right in the middle of the link."
A broken chain with 800m to go dashed all hopes for a possible stage 5 win for David Millar in the Giro d'Italia. Critical point, critical equipment misbehavior. What are the odds?!
Now I wonder whether his mechanics forgot to put the Powerlink onto the chain. But notice that Vaughters says it broke right in the middle of the link. It escapes me other than the possibility that its a fatigue failure. Its sad to note that modern chains are simply not as durable as they were some years back. Does anyone else notice this trend or is it just me?
Millar, in a fit of rage and disappointment, throws his expensive Felt into the bushes by the side of the road. Some lucky Italian will have walked away with it. Dang... Now notice that a possible injury that could result out of this is your tush hitting the top tube when out of saddle (I guess this is another good justification for compact frames). So, a broken chain could also mean emasculation. Shimano and others should definitely take this into consideration in their chain design and raise the factor of safety!
2 Brooks Supports The Bicycle Film Festival
"The Green Swallow is a Limited Edition of the Swallow Classic, normally sold only in the traditional Brooks colours (black, brown and honey). The 100 pieces are sold in cooperation with the Bicycle Film Festival in NY (May 28-June 1). For each sold saddle BROOKS will devolve 100 $ to support the Bicycle Film Festival.The Swallow reproduces the timeless design of the daddy of all modern racing saddles, first in production in 1937. This limited edition features the original chrome plated steel metalwork. The tensioning plate on the underside still bares the original patenting information retaining the word DEPOSÉ, as the patent for this model was first registered in Paris. Back then many of Brooks saddles in fact were exported to the continent for the use of racers in the tours."
Read more here.
If you're interested in seeing how Brooks saddles are made, check out a nice Flash based factory tour on their homepage menu. This will give you an idea of the manufacturing processes involved.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
3 Condolences
Have you realized that the world is grieving? These past few days and weeks have seen huge death tolls in Burma and recently, China. The Red Cross estimates that 128,000 may have perished in the cyclones and the AFP reports that over 40,000 may be missing or are buried underneath the quake rubble. Combine this with the rising food crisis, famine in many areas of the world, deaths in the middle east, and ofcourse, malnutrition and disease that's relentlessly killing people in parts of Africa and Asia and its a very very distressing world calamity. We're pretty fortunate to be in the safer parts of the world, to earn good money, to be able to hop on our bikes and run or go fishing and be with our families without knowing who will drop bombs on our roof or when the fault in the earth underneath our feet will give away.
The moral I think is : Don't always take things for granted. Thank someone at the end of the day. And help others if you can.
5 The Art of Countersteering
I was fortunate enough to land on a video, thanks to My Shaved Legs and user IanJSeattle.. As unconscious a behavior is walking and breathing to humans, so is counter steering to the cyclist (oh of course, most cyclists are human too unless you beg to differ). I find it slightly ridiculous that a big deal is made out of this principle in most cycling books, when in fact each one of us uses it pretty much on a daily basis, whenever we ride.
To handle a corner, you have to effectively lean into a turn so as to shift the combined center of mass of you and your bicycle. If you don't lean, centrifugal forces will disturb the balance of forces and throw you to the ground.
But the only way to cause that lean is to move the support points in the opposite direction first - a tiny jolt of the handlebars for a fraction of second depending on speed that we aren't really conscious of but it exists, as this video proves with a slow motion camera. The counter steering phenomenon becomes evident when there is an obstacle preventing the wheel from counter steering, such as an overlapped wheel which is a common cause for crashes in bicycle races. Next time, save your bones and equipment by being aware of the need to counter steer.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
6 1991 Colnago Ferrari C35 Collector's Edition
I wish I were friends with Alex Wong. Because he happens to have something I don't.
Mr. Wong has put up a collector's edition of a 1991 Colnago C35 up on EBAY, carved in red carbon fiber composite and 24K plated gold. Bling bling!
I thought the seller's description was interesting.
Mr. Wong says (unedited) : "In the summer of 1991, I was invited by Ferrari to visit the factory and test drive an Ferrari F40 that I have purchased, which I took delivery on September. While at the factory, I purchase this Ferrari Cologna C35 in Ferrari Red at the Ferrari store across the street from the factory, for $ 8,000 US (that was while US dollar was at the strongest), I had it ship back to the US. I don’t ride bicycle, this was mean to be a collector piece, I had this bike since then, it has never been ridden, and it is in museum quality."
Now it is quite apparent that Mr. Wong, even though rich beyond doubt, doesn't ride a bicycle as he had the audacity not only to spell words horribly wrong, but also call a Colnago a "Cologna" and describe it as a 'mean' collector's piece. I now think there is no justice done with this bike sitting at his home.
So go and bid here if you're crazy. I like the pictures.
Monday, May 12, 2008
9 Tuesday Shorts
1. Fantastic racing is on in Italy. Catch all the action of the Giro on the 'Downtube' to your right.
(Man, Pantani sings like wow... where can I buy an album? Or can I 'pirate' a cd, no pun intended?)
2. Public demand for the "coffee cup" look was overwhelming. I brought it back. If you're a cycling nerd and like to learn or waste/kill clock, don't come here without coffee. You'll get a little more cozy each time (or something is wrong with me).
3. Robert Riley Product Design Enterprises sells DIY (Do-It-Yourself) engineering plans to make your own Ground Hugger recumbent.
Plans may be purchased as CAD drawings in electronic format (dxf format on 3-1/2-inch disks), as large 24 x 36-inch prints on bond paper, or in a set containing both CAD and printed drawings. This is probably a nice way to get into hobby bicycle building.
4. A nice graphic here. The bicycle is the most popular mode of transportation in the world. Have you caught the fever?
Courtesy : Number 275. Now if you have some 7000 dollars to spare, you can buy this special portable hypoxic tent from CAT Altitude Systems. Ofcourse, if you're not a pro (Levi has one of this himself), I advise you to save your money. I won't say I'm suspicious of LHTL protocols since I haven't tried them but from what I read, most of the research studies surrounding altitude training is ambiguous at best (and there's so many of them that you can go to a public health library and check some of them out yourself).
Recently, Scientific American had it that mountain climbing kills brain cells (Into Thin Air : Mountain Climbing Kills Brain Cells , April 2008). Do you see any connections?
6. A not so bad look at the Orbea production factory.
7. I'm moving from Buffalo to Olean NY. I'm excited about working for D-R, and this area of Cattaraugus County is really beautiful. While it could be true that not a lot is 'going-on' here, this place must really be awesome for cycling and generally, all kinds of outdoor sports! Very small town America type, and can get very country with the beautiful Alleghany forest (biggest in NY) right in my backyard. The altitudes here are not so bad and there are some awesome climbs around I hear. My new home is a good 1200 feet higher than where I used to live in Buffalo. I can't wait to go out there and ride some!
8. Finally, a reader pointed me to pictures showing a Mavic-R-Sys failure at the Cat 4/5 Pace Bend Race in Texas early this year. I was hunting for these pictures. For a while, the album was apparently closed to external parties. Now it is open. The slide show is well arranged and you can see exactly how the crash took place and what really happened to those carbon spokes.
Compare those pics with a recent post I had on the R-Sys spoke failures. Picture courtesy to Running Dave.
Now please ride strong, for the sake of this blog.
Friday, May 09, 2008
4 The Weldtite Factory
4 Broken Fork
Seen at Gent Wevelgem '08 by photographer Tim de Waele. No idea about the rider but it seems like he's from the AG2r team.
Anyone has any info?
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
5 Bugno And Mozart : The Little Secret
The Tour de France has produced some of the greatest champions cycling has ever seen. It takes more than just the ability to ride with the toughest competitors from around the world. It takes more than just passion to race or the will to survive 3 weeks of grueling punishment and harsh terrain. These boys are tough, made of a certain kind of caliber and mental toughness that we can't define. Little wonder is it that some of the biggest names in cycling had tough pasts and incredible stories of overcoming challenges behind them that often looms larger over what they actually achieved in racing. For example, if you asked me if winning the Tour seven times was the biggest achievement for Lance, I'd probably say it could be. But he beat cancer. He beat cancer and then he won more races. Thats two different things.
What is greater then? - the will to survive and the will to live, to throw a middle finger at death or drinking champagne to victory seven times at the Champs-Élysées.
Anyway, so our little tale today is of Gianni Bugno, a prolific Italian racer of the 90's who was able to do incredibly well in the classics and the grand tours, overshadowed only by Miguel Indurain. Bugno's victory in the Giro d'Italia in 1990 is considered one of the most dominating performances in that race ever - as he led the race from start to finish.
However, Bugno did have his share of problems.
One of his behavioral challenges was extreme timidness. The problem was traced back to his childhood, which he spent with his grandparents in Italy while his parents worked in Switzerland.
Bugno also had an undetected problem. It was Vertigo (symptom of a balance disorder) or the dizziness and fear of falling when he descended from a mountain peak at high speed. Little did he know that a congenital obstruction in his ear canals and a bad crash in the 1988 Giro would affect his performance so drastically in his racing.
He remained timid about it for a while. It was only in the 1989 Milan-Turin classic, when he was first over the top of a climb but struggled and was caught by the pack on the descent that his little secret bared itself before people.
Bugno, ofcourse was very disappointed and extremely confused. It was a tough time for him. After that race he was to say , 'A priest in a soutane (a cassock or priestly garment) could have made it down faster than I did. I felt so dizzy that I slowed down almost to a complete stop.'
As a cure, Bugno was given a month of musical therapy during the off season of 1989-90, a time when he listened intently to Mozart at different speeds and degrees of loudness. Within that short period of time, he would say goodbye to Vertigo.
Soon after that, he visited an allergist, who discovered that he could not tolerate milk products in his diet. Pills were prescribed and his diet was changed. He also began seeing a psychologist who helped resolve his shyness. After he was put into the hands of Claudio Corti,a veteran Italian rider, he was taught how to take charge of his Chateau d'Ax Team.
MozartThe once timid rider who had won only a few races in the seasons of '86-'88 was suddenly storming down the Poggio hill to win Milan-San-Remo while other riders took the descent slowly and carefully. He would go on to ride more strongly for Italy and give a pressing statement to the newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, which had, in a very celebrated obituary in 1989, declared Italian cycling dead.
Watch some of Bugno's videos here.
Courtesy : Samuel Abt, Three Weeks to Glory
Monday, May 05, 2008
3 TREK Design and Engineering Screencasts
When I hopped onto the Solidworks main webpage this afternoon, I was pleased to see a head banner enclosing screencasts of TREK designing bicycles with the software. If engineering and bicycles piques you, then you may be very interested in watching these screencasts and going through the case studies. Click here to view the page.
There is no doubt in my mind that CAD (computer aided design) applications have revolutionized the way modern bicycles are designed and manufactured. When you think of CAD, Solidworks quickly comes to mind. Over the past few years, it has been on top of its game, enabling mechanical engineers and designers all over the world transform design ideas and intent to fruition, increasing efficiency, decreasing lead times and importantly, time to market. It is no wonder then that recently, Solidworks 2008 was chosen as the Product of the Year as part of the NASA Tech Brief's Readers Choice Award.
10 Ideas for New Cycling Products : Part 2
Continued from the past post, Part 1.
7. Adaptive Stiffness - Wacky idea. A bike that will adapt its stiffness the more you ride it. Say Sam is a new bicyclist, knows nothing about bikes and goes out an purchases a new road bike model. Initially, for say the first 500-1000 miles, the bike is very compliant and accommodating, hence it is comfortable and he loves it. The more he rides it and perhaps races on it, the more the bicycle's stiffness adapts to his riding patterns. I'm thinking that the material of construction is a "smart" material that detects how the stresses it is subjected to changes as a function of time and then suitably "adapts". A cyclist knowing this, may perhaps be inclined to put more miles to get his bicycle to 'change'. This is the most perfect symbiosis I can think of in any sporting equipment - as a cyclist gets stronger and is able to ride more, the bicycle adapts too, yielding the rider more confidence in sprints and climbs.
8. The Smart Bicycle - Oh boy, my imaginations are kicking in right here. See, this idea encapsulates what I talked about in number 7. You have a smart bicycle that can instrinsically detect how stress and strains change over a period of time. Just like one would monitor his training progress on a powermeter software, you could perhaps have a software that helps download the bicycle's information onto a computer so one can visually see how his bike has 'behaved' over the course of the time he's ridden it. I also coin the term 'Life Curve', by which the user can monitor stresses, strains and predict with a certain amount of confidence the material behavior in future. This could perhaps lead to a better knowledge of the material and help avoid catastrophic failures, and financial losses. You could even know when its time to replace a bike. (Ofcourse, when I talk about material I'm referring to composites)
9. Bicycle LED Indicator - An LED based left, right and stop indicator, possibly something attachable to the rear side of the saddle and visible enough at night to drivers behind. Indicator switch will be mounted on a handlebar. Stop or brake lights will be automatically triggered if the brakes are pressed. Now something like this has been already done on jackets and tank tops. This research field deals with wearable electronics and I have discussed it in previous posts like this one.
10. A Big Center Page Poster in VeloNews magazine readers to remove and enhance their walls. It should sell! C'mon...you're with me on this aren't you?
11. The Memory Saddle : A saddle that conforms to the shape of your butt and sit bones that'll break in only after a handful of good miles. This will help avoid the scenario where one of your friends jump onto your bike (for a test ride) and mess all the saddle settings up.
12. Shape Changing Helmets : An intelligent shape changing helmet, that according to wind conditions become more or less streamlined. Or perhaps you could change its shape manually for a specific application, like say Time Trialling. This could throw out the need for using a different helmet every where you see. Whatever is built must be able to sufficiently protect the head, pass standards and must be lightweight but strong. Folding bicycle helmets have already been made so perhaps one could take a few ideas from that avenue?
13. A Handlebar Mounted Bookstand : Jeez, how many times have you wanted to read a book intead of watching stupid television while on your trainer. I don't have a T.V set at home and rarely hear MP3 music, but I love reading. Those wintry months when I would hop on the trainer for the 3 hour base sessions have been the most boring times of my life. Making this would be a simple machine shop job. But I feel the need is there. We spent too much time riding our bicycles.
14. Crash Cushioning : The bicycle is the most popular vehicle in the world. But bicycle racing is one of the most dangerous also. Lets face it, compared with other modes of transportation, the bicycle is ages behind in terms of crash safety. What happens to the rider as he falls is largely dependent on speed, how he lands, helmet function, guts, and a fair amount of chance. A large number of riders suffer from hip injuries, broken collar bones and wrists, rendering them useless for months. For professional riders who have dependant families, this means two or three lost paychecks and a dear life thats hanging in balance. How can we cushion a rider's crash? When I think of this situation, what quickly comes to mind is how NASA softened the Mars Exploration Rover's (MER) landing on the red planet by engineering special purpose airbags. Can something like this be incorporated into a rider without discomfort, perhaps in the critical spots of the hip? Keep imagining...
15. The Cable-less bicycle : Will a time come when the cabled bicycle will say goodbye? What possible modes of control can replace cables, perhaps electronic? Don't get me wrong, cables are very efficient in transferring tension and getting the work done. But as we progress and make huge improvements in other areas of bicycle technology (leaps I should say), should we leave the cable unscrutinized?
Thats all from my head for the moment. I wrote all this today and I could go on with sufficient time, but like I said in Part 1, bring in further ideas and drop in comments. This can get interesting if you're interested.
1 Ideas for New Cycling Products : Part 1
There's a fair number of people out there who think that the bicycle industry is stagnant. That there is no engineering, no new ideas and not enough, you know that certain something compared to other industries which I don't know how to define. I have come up with some of my own ideas for possible new cycling products/ideas. Some of this may be practical, some over the edge and wacky and some swims in the realm of science fiction (hey, but look what Arthur C. Clarke did for space exploration!!)
I haven't gone too much into the technicalities of any because that will defeat the purpose of me writing this. They are simply ideas and I hope they will influence, stimulate or even inspire your own thinking. If you're willing to contribute more, do drop in comments. If you have a winning idea, keep it for the patent office.
1. On the go tire inflation/deflation system - A monitoring system mounted on the handlebars detects tire pressure while riding. If pressures are too low and in order to avoid a pinch flat, pressure is boosted by a certain 'mechanism'. If pressures are too high, the system releases a quantity of air for more 'comfort'.
Now the idea is not strictly 'new. There's a bunch of patents out there and in the recent past, I have seen two Youtube projects that approach my thinking. Both were from the 'Innovate or die' contest sponsored by Google and Specialized.
A pedal powered pump here :
A Semi-automatic Tire Pump
I say keep the developments going!
2. Acceleration and lean angle monitoring - Former can be accelerometer based and the latter could employ gyroscopes. Knowing both these variables may perhaps aid in training like the power meter does. An objective number to test the power of a 'jump' on the bike for criteriums and sprinting and something else to perfect cornering technique. For how accelerometers work, click here.
3. Individual Leg Input Measurement - Knowing the force, power or perhaps even torque applied by each individual leg on the pedals can help balance the input from both legs. This may eliminate the input "bias" that we all grow with. Some are more right prone, some left. Balancing things out may help distribute the forces evenly preventing fatiguing or cramping on one side. Research is being done in this area. Recently I wrote a post on "Intelligent" cycling components that have sensors embedded into them in the manufacturing process.
4. Horizontal Fork Dropouts - I have discussed a safety scenario in an earlier post where sharp, pointy fork ends may slip from someone's grip and fall on an exposed feet leading to possible injury. This may even prevent instances of painting chipping or dropout damage. Some others have commented for the need for 'common sense' on part of bicycle users. I like both sides of the discussion. Giggle..
5. Self Healing Paint and Rubber (for tires and tubes) - It will be a dream to make a paint job on a bike last a lifetime. How about a paintjob from heaven that can heal itself from damage? And how about your inner tube or tire retaining its original form even after a puncture tear. This avoids the need for buying replacements or even dealing with rudimentary patch kits. It is my belief that tires are too expensive these days, pinched tubes are thrown into the basement or even the trashed and not many bother to recycle these items. These steps may conserve earth's natural resources like rubber. Hopefully nanoparticles can find itself into the bike industry in these two areas. Look here for an article on self healing rubber. Automotive companies are stepping up the game in these two areas. For self healing paint, I have scanned some literature from my personal collection for you to read :
6. Magnetic Braking - Disc brakes are fine but how about taking it a step further? Amusement park rides employ magnetic brakes to get equipment and payload to a complete halt. Long descents on bicycles can easily reach 60+ mph for those intent on speed. Perhaps braking could be more efficient, eliminate brake pads and could perhaps be built in a way as to take measured inputs for desired braking output. Vehicles employ magnetic brakes comprising an eddy current brake with a stator and rotor. According to this patent, eddy current brakes can also be used in bicycle ergometers. Click here to learn about how eddy currents work.
Go onto Part 2.
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